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Keyword Abilities
Keywords (or abilities) are the skills listed when you examine a unit. Each one affects the unit in a profound way, and different combinations of them helps give each unit a unique feel and role. Note that some are temporary, and can be granted by spells, or from other abilities (hidden, being a good example of this). Also note that some abilities are bad (such as plague), or place restrictions on a unit (such as bulky). __TOC__ Natural Unit Abilities These abilities can be found on any unit naturally, without the effects of terrain, spells, or the like. That is, at least one unit in the game will have a non-underlined version of it. Affinity Employing an innate link to the aether to tap your power, this unit automatically gains all unit enchantments that you know or learn. You must still pay upkeep for those spells normally. Units with ability: Aetherling Other sources: None Notes: *You must still pay the upkeep for the spells. *New spells are automatically applied. *Given the low tech and unit cost, some form of Aetherling rush might be effective, with the right spell schools. *Some spell effects that would affect it include: mighty, undead, amphibious, flying, endurance, rock ranger, etc. Aid Production Adds to a city's production progress (removes this unit) Units with ability: Caravan Other sources: none Notes: *Effectively transfers production from one city to another, with a little loss, as the caravan costs 70 points to build and adds 60 points with Aid Production. Can be used to climb the tech tree in one city very fast, or to add some buildings in a new town. Amphibious Either the unit has decent swimming skills, or it carries along the tools to make a floating vessel when needed. This unit may move through water as well as over land, but not through oceans. Units with ability: Raft Squad, Trailblazer, Brave, Javelineer, Hunter, Explorer, Shaman, Guardian, Relentless, Ichtian, Honor-Sworn, Warleader, Zaratan, Jellyfish, Thalassan, Hydra, Siren Other sources: The chaos spell Amphibious Breathing, and the Thalassan's ability Mermaid's Kiss. Notes: *Even if an undead unit is amphibious, it can't cross water, except for at springs. Animate Dead Through dark necromantic power, this unit will cause any of your units in the same group that die in combat to arise once more as vile undead. Undead units cost half the usual upkeep, in mana rather than gold. Units with ability: Theurgist Other sources: none Notes: * Animate dead works great on Ogres and Clawed Furies. * Does not work on magical units. * When a unit is life drained, it can't be animated. Armor Pierce Through a powerful and critically aimed strike, this unit ignores its opponent's defense rating when attacking, inflicting grave damage. Units with ability: Werewolf, Cannon, Shambling Mound, Clawed Fury Other sources: none Notes: * Very good against units with a high defense rating. Assassinate Kills a nearby enemy, except bulky ones, and except within cities (this also removes the assassin). Units with ability: Assassin Other sources: None Notes: * A very handy way to remove select targets such as healers, or ones that have the augment ability, for instance. Augment In combat, all undead units grouped with this one gain +2 to melee attack and +1 to ranged attack. Multiple augmentations are not cumulative, and the augmentation is not removed if this unit dies. Units with ability: Spectre Other sources: the hero Salyste has this skill Notes: * This affects undead units only. It is similar to blessing, but adds more to melee attack and does not increase resistance. Black Healing Heals a group of (nearby) undead units. Units with ability: Necromancer Other sources: none Notes: * One of the few ways to heal undead units. Blessing It combat, all units grouped with this one gain +1 to attack and defense, and +2 to resistance. Multiple blessings are not cumulative, and undead cannot be blessed. The blessed is not dispelled if this unit dies. Units with ability: Priest, Paladin, Chanter, Warleader Other sources: the hero Amphithrite Notes: *It's worth restating that Undead cannot be blessed. *Especially good against units with a magical attack. Blind The unit cannot see for itself, therefore it has no sight range and cannot explore terrain. Also, the unit is unable to gather resources at special map locations such as Leylines and gold mines. Units with ability: Illusion, Ethereal Wall, Slave, Ghost Other sources: the body spell Blindness Notes: *The most important effect is that blind units can't see the enemy on a battlefield and therefore can't shoot and will not get to act in the first melee round. This effect is cancelled when another unit in the same stack is not blind. *Can't enter unexplored terrain and can't gather resources. Bombard Launch a volley of bolts at a nearby unit or city. This is a particularly effective at enemy cities and works to decimate their defense, or at least ruin some houses or other buildings. Units with ability: Ballista, Behemoth, Catapult, Cannon, Battleship Other sources: none Notes: *Handy for weakening or killing defenders before you attack the square. *Very good when attacking a heavily defended city. Buildings that grant defense bonuses can be destroyed in addition to weakening the defending units. *Setting a unit with bombard on Guard will let it bombard the first enemy unit that comes near during the turn of the opponent. *It can sometimes be difficult to maneuver the units into place. Break Charge Spears and halberds can be set firmly to the ground, in order to make onrushing horses impale themselves. This unit is immune to a cavalry charge and gains +3 on attack and defense when fighting cavalry. Units with ability: Pikeman, War Machine, Phalanx, Behemoth Other sources: heroes can learn this skill Notes: *Very good skill against humans, because they have many units with cavalry. Bribe With a glib tongue and a purse full of gold, a skilled diplomat can convince enemies to join your side. Undead, magical units, heroes and cities cannot be bribed, and large groups get very expensive. Units with ability: Envoy, Diplomat Other sources: none Notes: *The limiting factor to bribery is mostly corruption, because corruption makes it very hard to build up a large gold supply. Ways to exceed this limit include Levies, Wealth of Croesus and the god Sartho the Possessor. *A stack of units costs more than the sum of the costs of the units apart. *Fanatic units cost twice as much to bribe. *This is one of the best ways to deal with Dragons, in spite of the fact that they are Fanatic. Build Farm Farmsteads (5 food, 1 work, 1 trade) can be built in three weeks on any mutable terrain. Use the Survey button to verify this. The agriculturist is removed once the farm is built. Units with ability: Agriculturist Other sources: The body spell Gaea's Bounty and the Floral Clock can also create Farmland. Notes: *Farmlands is one of the best terrain types, as it can provide a large boost to city size. It is especially good for creating cities with high mana production. Build Moonpath Your units move at double speed over moonpaths; they are invisible to enemies. This is not cumulative with other movement boosting bonuses, and enemies with magesight can detect the paths. Units with ability: Geomancer Other sources: none Notes: *Casting Ethereal Path will turn the road visible. Build Road All units move at double speed over roads. This is not cumulative with other movement bonuses. On a road, a fortress can be built. All units camped in a fortress gain +2 defense and requires one less ducat in wages. Units with ability: Engineer, Working Spider, Slave Other sources: none Notes: *With Ethereal Path, the movement cost can be reduced even further. *Building a road or fortress takes 3 weeks, but with Ratyva the Artisan both take 2 weeks to build. *A fortress also protects against extreme climate. Build Tower All unit at a watchtower site have a sight range of two tiles. Note that detection and magesight are still limited to one tile. Additionally, all units camped inside the watchtower are hidden, even if the tower itself is not. Units with ability: Ranger, Vigilante, Ogre Other sources: none Notes: *In addition to increasing sight radius and hiding units, watchtowers also protect against extreme climate. This makes it especially efficient to protect units guarding a mine. Bulky The unit is too large to be hidden and is unaffected by some spells, such as Eagle's Flight. The unit can only move over open terrain, such as plains, or over roads. While in a city, it has -2 to attack and defense, unless it flies. Units with ability: Ballista, Galleon, Ethereal Wall, Cannon, War Machine, Battleship, Ornithopter, Dragon, all carriers Other sources: none Notes: *Spells that do not work on Bulky units are Eagle's Flight, Wreath of Flames and Aquatic Mutation. *Bulky units are immune to assassination and life drain. *Bulky units are often unable to reach enemy cities, unless you build roads. *War Machines are tireless, so after capturing a city, move them out to avoid the penalty. Camouflage While camped or on guard, this unit will hide itself along with any other units in its group. Hidden units can only be seen by units with the detection skill. Note that bulky units cannot be hidden. Units with ability: Stalker, Zaratan Other sources: heroes can learn this skill Notes: *As soon as the unit moves, the group becomes visible again. Carrier A large boat, or a fleet of small ones, can bring along a sizeable army and enough supplies to feed it for weeks. This unit may carry other units along wherever it goes. The number of units of any tile is still limited to six. Units with ability: Sailing Ship, Caravel, Diving Pod, Zaratan, Trireme, Cloudship, Jellyfish, Longboat Other sources: '''none '''Notes: *Storm run can't be cast on carrier units. Cavalry Mounted on strong horses or other animals, cavalry units move at double speed over open terrain. They gain +4 on their first melee attack as they charge into combat, unless the defendant has the break charge skill. Units with ability: Knight, Mounted Scout, Paladin, Pegasus Rider, Working Spider, Attack Spider Other sources: '''Some heroes have cavalry. '''Notes: *Cavalry units can move very fast on most maps. *Units with cavalry are vulnerable to Break Charge and Spook Animals *Cavalry does not increase movement further on tiles with roads. Cloak Aura A paramount master of both mental and physical disguise, this unit will be considered by an opposing wizard to be one of his personal loyal troops, not noticing the infiltration until it is too late. Units with ability: Infiltrator, (probably other units) Other sources: None. Dampening The unit can perform countermagic, which reduces the damage done by overland spells and effects (such as the Flamelance spell) by 33% for the entire group. Multiple dampenings are not cumulative. Dependent The unit requires supplies every week, and will disband if those are lacking. Supplies can be obtained by staying close to a friendly city, or sending along a supplier unit. Use survey to find out which areas are supplied. Units with ability: Phalanx, Miner, Sopholith, (etc.) Detection This skill allows the unit to detect hidden units. This works against Stealth, Ranger, Rock Ranger, Camouflage and Guide units, but not against Invisibility. The range of this skill is limited to one tile. Units with ability: Stargazer, Thalassan, (etc.) Diving The unit can traverse water, but cannot cross land unless it's amphibious. Since it can swim under water, it will be hidden (even if bulky!) while in sea or ocean. Hidden units can only be seen by untis with detection skill. Units with ability: Skeletal Shark, Kraken, Thalassan, Siren Eagle Eye This unit either has very keen eyesight, or some magical ability to view remote areas in the mind's eye. Its sight range is increased to two tiles. The range for detection and magesight is not increased. Units with ability: Colonist, Marksman, Pegasus Rider, Djinn, (etc.) Endurance Because of protective clothing or natural toughness, the unit is unaffected by extreme heat and cold, such as the climate in deserts and on glaciers. However, damaging spells are too powerful for this skill to be helpful. Units with ability: Channeler, Rootless one, Kraken, (etc.) Ethereal This unit lacks a corporeal body. As such, it is very difficult to damage with ordinary weapons. Magical attacks, including holy aura, flame aura and might of giants, damage the unit as normal. Expand City Rather than founding a new city, these wandering people are also content to settle in any existing city of the same race, thus increasing its population by 1500. Units with ability: Rootless One Explosive Some creatures can be dangerous despite a total lack of combat skills. The idea that somebody, or something, would just walk up to you and detonate itself is too horrific for most warriors to think about. Units with ability: Imp, (etc.) Exorcism A prayer to the Gods of Light can send the undead back to their graves. At the least this will damage any undead it focuses on; at the most it will reduce the vile creature to a pile of ashes and dust. Units with ability: Channeler, Paladin, (etc.) Fanatic Fanatic units cannot be disbanded. If you cannot support a fanatic unit, it will consider you a traitor and attack you. However, fanatic units cannot be dominated, and are twice as expensive to bribe. Units with ability: Werewolf, Paladin, Infiltrator, (etc.) Fell Trees Change jungle to forest, or any forest to plains; +30 production bonus to own city if within 2 hexes. Rq three weeks. Units with ability: Lumberjack Feral Because of its animal nature and intuitive evasion of open spaces, the unit is restricted to wild areas, such as forests and hills, and may not enter open terrain, such as plains or rivers. Flame Aura A circle of living flame surrounds this unit. Anybody attempting to hit the unit in melee will be severely burned by the flames. The unit is immune to harsh climate, but cannot be hidden. Units with ability: Channeler Flying Flying units can cross any type of terrain at a cost of two movement points per area. This is not cumulative with other movement bonuses. Because of strong winds and lack of resting places, flying units cannot cross ocean. Units with ability: Cloudship, Pegasus Rider, Raven, Djinn, (etc.) Foresight Through preternatural awareness, this unit becomes aware of enemy troops as they plan to attack, and will attempt to move out of their path before they can strike. Such elusive troops are hard to catch. Units with ability: Infiltrator, Raven(?) Forester The unit is skilled at making a quick path through the woods. While in bushy terrain, such as a forest, this unit moves at double speed. This unit may also enter jungle, which normal units cannot pass. Units with ability: Druid, Dryad, Shapeshifter (animal form), Bladedancer, (etc.) Found City This is one of the select few units that can create new cities. Note that training this unit takes 1500 of your population. You should use the Survey button to find a suitable location for the city. Units with ability: Adventurer, Colonist, Pioneer, Rootless One, (etc.) Gather Mana The unit has the ability to serve as a conduit for magical power. While this unit is camped outside a city, it gathers mana every week from the area it is camped in. Use the Survey button to find out how much. Units with ability: Herbalist, (etc.) Gloom Aura The surroundings become deadened with the chill of the grave whenever this unit passes by. Any enemy city within a two-tile range will have its happiness slowly seeping away. Multiple gloom auras ARE cumulative. Guide All this unit's movement and stealth bonuses also apply to all other units in its group. This works for the Ranger, Rock Ranger, Forester, Mountaineer and Stealth skills. Note that bulky units cannot be hidden. Units with ability: Behemoth, Mountaineer, Sopholith, (etc.) Healing The unit may heal a group of nearby units each week. This skill can also be used to cure poison and the black plague, but only one of the three at a time. Undead cannot be affected. Units with ability: Herbalist, Healer, Dryad, (etc.) Holy Aura A divine blessing gives this unit +4 to attack undead and +2 to attack lycanthropes, and the unit can attack ethereal units normally. Units with ability: Paladin, (etc.) Imitation The unit can take the appearance of any other nearby unit to mislead or delude enemies. However, bulky units cannot be imitated. Only units with magesight can see through the illusion. Units with ability: Apparition, Infiltrator, (etc.) Immunity Through superior fortitude or a magically-enhanced immune system, this unit cannot be affected by poison or plague, whether from harsh terrain, enemy attacks, or spells. Undead are likewise immune. Units with ability: Herbalist, Dryad, (etc.) Inspire Improves the morale of a group so that they will work for one less gold per week (not cumulative with itself or with the related city effect) Units with ability: Bully, (etc.) Invocation The daemon is capable of calling forth a small army from the depths of the netherworld. During battle, it will automatically summon up to three wraiths for assistance, as long as there is room in the combat party. Laborer Able of body, and either willing or compelled to lend a hand to the construction process, this unit bestows four labor points per week while camped in a city, as long as the city is not in upheaval. Units with ability: Slave Lay Trap This creates an arcane trap in one tile, a process which takes three weeks. The trap is hidden (and can be seen by units with detection skill) and discharges into a powerful explosion when unwitting units enter the tile. Life Drain This unit can suck the life out of enemies at a touch, thus healing itself. The victim, if slain, will become and undead under the drainer's control. Magical, bulky or undead units cannot be drained. Heroes won't become undead. Units with ability: Ghoul Thunderbolt Calls forth a stroke of lightning from the sky. Any nearby group of enemies can be fried by the bolt, or it can be called down onto an empty area in the hopes of striking a hidden foe. Units with ability: Storm cloud Long Range The unit has enough power in missile attacks and enough eyesight to hit enemies from a great distance. The unit gains five missile attacks at the beginning of combat, instead of the usual three. Units with ability: Marksman, (etc.) Lure Forces an adjacent group of enemies to attack you (but not out of a city). Units with ability: Siren Lycanthropy The lycanthrope is affected by the phase of the moon. When the moon is full, the unit gets a +1 bonus to its melee and missile attack, as well as defense. When the moon is dark, the unit suffers a -1 penalty. Units with ability: Werewolf, Snowbringer, Shapeshifter, Doppelganger, Infiltrator, Rootless one, Snowbringer. Magesight Allows the unit to detect invisible units. Also illusory units can be seen for what they really are. Hidden units are not revealed, unless a detection unit is also present. The range of this skill is limited to one tile. Units with ability: Diviner, Seer, (etc.) Mermaid's Kiss Allows another unit to breathe underwater (has mana upkeep). Units with ability: Thalassan Mighty The unit has been enchanted with superhuman strength. While its appearance is not obviously different, it can lift logs and heavy rocks with ease. It al gains a +2 bonus to its non-magical melee and missile attacks. Sources: The spell Might of Giants provides this effect. Militant Only militant units may be used to capture enemy cities. However, your citizens will slowly become unhappy if you keep more than three militant units inside your cities as a strong military presence makes the people nervous. Units with ability: Werewolf, Paladin, Swordsman, Bladesinger, Phalanx, Shadowdancer, Hydra, Thalassan, Behemoth, Kraken, (etc.) Mindread Use next to an enemy city to steal that enemy's map (removes this unit). Units with ability: Diviner, (etc.) Mind Shield A defensive magic protects this unit from most adverse spells, including Minor Cancellation when used to remove beneficial spells. The unit is not protected from Plague, nor from Energy spells. Units with ability: Djinn, (etc.) Mining While this unit is camped outside a city, it will dig for gold and increase your income by an amount depending on the terrain it camped in, with a limit of 3 gold. Use survey to find out how much. Modify Weather Freezes or thaws nearby terrain. Units with ability: Snowbringer Mountaineer This unit is a skilled climber and spelunker. While in sloping terrain, such as hills, the unit moves at double speed. This unit may also enter mountains, which normal units cannot pass. Units with ability: Behemoth, Infiltrator, Shapeshifter, (etc.) Plant Forest Woodlands (2 food, 3 work, 1 trade) can be grown in three weeks on any mutable terrain. Use the Survey button to verify this. The druid is not removed by this effect. Units with ability: Druid Purify Removes hostile spells from nearby unit (not including plague) Raid for Slaves Grab slaves from a nearby city; this can be done only once per week regardless of the amount of slavers present. Units with ability: Slaver Ranger While in bushy terrain, such as a forest, this unit is hidden. Hidden units can only be seen by units with detection skill. This unit may also enter jungle, which normal units cannot pass. Units with ability: Dryad, Druid, Shapeshifter, (etc.) Ravage Burns mutable land to wasteland. This is a desolate and discomforting area, and produces only one food, nothing else. Ravaging also removes a road, moonpath, fortress or watchtower. Regeneration With supernatural fortitude, this creature will fully heal itself each week. It even slowly recovers from injuries during combat. Also, while it can still be infected, it will never die from plague or poison. Units with ability: Hydra, (etc.) Replicate Through feeding from the lands and myotic splitting, the nether ooze will grow another ooze in the same or an adjacent hex with a 20% chance each week. This can quickly grow out of any wizard's control. Units with ability: Nether Ooze Research Through study and experiments, this unit actively contributes to your arcane knowledge. While it is camped anywhere, you gain 4 research points per week, 5 if the unit is veteran, 6 is elite. Revenant While some troops are hampered by a mild injury, these forces are not even fazed by deth itself. If slain in combat, this unit rises immediately in undead form to fight for your cause once more. Units with ability: Relentless, (etc.) Rock Ranger While in sloping terrain, such as hills, this unit is hidden. Hidden units can only be seen by units with detection skill. This unit may also enter mountains, which normal units cannot pass. Sabotage Cancels productions of adjacent city, or any adjacent mining/gather mana units, for one week (removes this unit) Sail The unit can move over water, using wind as propulsion. Rowers can be used if there is little wind. Units with ability: '''Caravel, Cloudship, Battleship, Galleon Saturate Land Change mutable land to swamp (removes this unit). Requires three weeks. '''Units with ability: Plantshaper Scrounge Goblins are masters of living off a thriving city, hiding in the shadows and stealing whatever isn't nailed down. While camped at most two tiles from an enemy city, it will steal 4 gold per week, 5 if veteran, 6 if elite. Shapeshift Changes unit into form of chosen nearby friendly or enemy (no bulky/undead/magical/hero/settler) Units with ability: Doppelganger Shield The unit carries a large shield and is trained in using it. This offers +4 protection against any missile attacks, except for large ones such as ballista bolts. It is too slow to help against melee attacks. Shift Form Shifts between human and animal form. Units with ability: Shapeshifter Shimmer The unit looks hazy and wavy from a distance, and flickers around quickly so that its position cannot be ascertained. This distortion makes it nearly impossible to hit the unit with ranged attacks. Units with ability: Astral Ranger, Appariton, (etc.) Siegecraft The skills to get into a fortified area can save an army many lives. When attacking, this unit and its group ignore any defense bonuses for terrain, cities or fortresses. This effect remains even if this unit dies. Stealth This unit has the ability to hide in any kind of terrain and sneak around without attracting undue attention, only revealing itself when it's too late for its foes. Hidden units can only be seen by units with detection skill. Summoning Whenever you summon a unit, you can summon it to this unit's location as well, instead of only to any city you control. Note that you can also summon to a Leyline where you have a unit present. Units with ability: Channeler, (etc.) Supplier The unit can supply dependent units. Any unit on the same tile or an adjacent tile at the end of the week will automatically be supplied. Use survey to see which areas are supplied. Units with ability: Caravan, (etc.) Tactician When you have a tactician in combat, you may choose targets every time, rather than alternating with your opponent. If your opponent also has a tactician, the effects cancel out until either one dies or flees. Teacher From this unit's imparted knowledge, all other units in the same group gain +2 experience per week. This is not cumulative with itself, nor with buildings or arenas that add experience. Units with ability: Ancestral spirit, (etc.) Teleport A magical way of traveling great distances quickly. The unit simply winks out of existence and reappears somewhere far away. A puff of smoke is often created for impressiveness, but there's no real need for this. Units with ability: Astral Ranger Tireless Regular troops are fatigued after fighting, and require some rest before matching on. Tireless troops, however, have tremendous stamina and require no such thing. They can keep moving even after engaging in combat. Units with ability: Hydra, (etc.) Train Self Through it's own will, this unit can teach itself to become proficient as something else. Train Unit This unit can produce other units in it's square (if there is room). True Strike Through vigorous training or ancient instinct, the unit has a greater skill in battle than opponents would hold possible. Its attack dice are rolled twice, keeping only the best result. Undead The living dead are immune to poison and plague. However, they do not heal normally nor by magical spells, are vulnerable to holy attacks, and cannot cross running water (i.e. rivers) without a bridge. Unstable The magical bonds that keep these troops together are chaotic at best. The unit will eventually dissipate, losing one health point per two weeks. Furthermore, it cannot be healed in any way. Units with ability: Stormcloud, (etc.) Visions Detects all units and cities within any of your units' sight range, even if hidden or invisible, for one turn (removes this unit) Venom This unit's attack is poisonous. Its victims will slowly waste away under it's effects, losing two health per week unless healed. Undead and bulky units are immune to the poison. Warp Memory A shroud of entropy surrounds this unit, wiping its location and surroundings from the memory of enemy wizards. This means they will have a hard time targeting that area with their spells. Special Ranged Attacks Sometimes, units have a special ranged attack( ), rather than a magical( ) or physical( ) one. This generates a special effect rather than damage. You still get the same 3 initial attack rounds as if it were ranged, and if the unit happened to have long range skill as well, it would get 5 attacks. Death Gaze The liche is truly death incarnate, capable of slaying enemies with a mere glance. If this attack successfully hits, the enemy is instantly killed, although mind shielded and undead enemies are protected. Units with ability: Liche Exorcism A prayer to the Gods of Light can send the undead back to their graves. At the least this will damage any undead it focuses on; at the most it will reduce the vile creature to a pile of ashes and dust. Units with ability: Paladin, Channeler, others Fear Gaze This unit's malevolent gaze inspires sheer terror in the hearts of enemies, except those undead or mind shielded. A successful attack will make the opponent attempt to flee combat. Units with ability: Behemoth Shadow Bolt Entropic attack that lowers a non-undead unit's defense and resistance by -1 for this combat; it can be resisted and IS cumulative with itself. Spell of Holding Originally designed to catch large animals that aren't easily downed by a couple of arrows, this spell quickly became appreciated by strategists to severely hamper an opponent in combat. Spook Animals By focusing a strong will upon it, a wild beast can be made to back off or even turn tail and run away. It is easier with trained animals, as those are already used to obeying commands and lack feral stubbornness. Units with ability: Animalist Category:General Category:General